peter_fischer's review
5.0
Second instalment of de Bernières’ fabulous Latin American Trilogy. If you’re into magic realism, don’t miss this!
novelesque_life's review
3.0
2.5 STARS
"A sequel to "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts". Dionisio Vivo, a young South American lecturer in philosophy, leads a charmed life in a world where the supernatural is routine. He is insulated from attacks by the local coca lord's hit-men, by a sense of justice and pig-headed integrity." (From Amazon)
I like de Bernieres writting but I'm not into this series but will finish it.
"A sequel to "The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts". Dionisio Vivo, a young South American lecturer in philosophy, leads a charmed life in a world where the supernatural is routine. He is insulated from attacks by the local coca lord's hit-men, by a sense of justice and pig-headed integrity." (From Amazon)
I like de Bernieres writting but I'm not into this series but will finish it.
mbondlamberty's review
5.0
Great if at times hard read. Mirrors many parts of Latin America unflinchingly but you might want to flinch at times.
siria's review against another edition
3.0
Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord is a parody, pastiche and example of magical realism in equal measure—the tale of a philosophy professor, Dionisio Vivo, from a country not unlike Colombia, who begins a war of letters in the newspaper editorial pages against a major drug trafficker, and is forced to end it in great violence. This is not a book for the faint-hearted (I'm not joking about the degree of violence) nor is it a book for someone who finds the magical realism genre tiresome (de Bernières avoids it ever being twee, but it is a bold and sometimes buffoonish element of the book, played for laughs and sarcasm), but if you like your novels in uncompromisingly primary colours, you might well enjoy it. It's not my favourite of his books, but I did enjoy it—though having read de Bernières for the first time in a while, since I've started to educate myself a little more about the things which underpin what I read, the fact that it's a white British guy writing a satire set in a Latin American country... I don't know quite how to categorise it, but at times it felt a little—voyeuristic? Is that the right word? There were sections where it felt as if he was almost making another country his playground, and that made for uncomfortable reading.
barbarabarbara's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
dwrevans's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Usually find Lou de Ber pretty reliable but this just felt messy and a bit all over the place. Still charming in parts but just not structured in a way which gives anything much weight imo
actualresultsmayvary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
What on Earth was that book?
For the first time in years I found myself actively putting off reading because it was so unenjoyable. Usually I really love short chapters in books but this time it seemed to just make it feel longer and it dragged on and on and on.
There was basically no plot to speak of and the book seemed to end without any conclusion which maybe is supposed to make you want to read the third one but it certainly hasn't done that for me! Although I do own the third one so who knows maybe I will read it at some point.
There were multiple mentions of violent rape and abuse which were talked about casually and without proper respect as well as mentions of paedophile and incest which again were breezed over.
I think my overwhelming opinion of this book was just 'why?'.
I would have rated it lower but there was the odd chapter that I did enjoy and I feel that maybe with some serious editing a passable book could be created from the ashes of this one.
gracebevis's review against another edition
2.0
Overall, I did not enjoy this book BUT I did think it was an easy read.
I think I had to accept that some chapters I would just not understand what was going on (which I hated) in order to get through the book.
I didn’t like any of the characters, nor care what happened to them.
The end of the book was easier to understand purely because a good few of the characters were killed off - but the last chapter was v boring (even though it supposedly tied everything up) and I had to force myself through it.
Awarding two stars though because as I say it was easy to read and I found some parts funny-ish.
I think I had to accept that some chapters I would just not understand what was going on (which I hated) in order to get through the book.
I didn’t like any of the characters, nor care what happened to them.
The end of the book was easier to understand purely because a good few of the characters were killed off - but the last chapter was v boring (even though it supposedly tied everything up) and I had to force myself through it.
Awarding two stars though because as I say it was easy to read and I found some parts funny-ish.
alextind's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
kingfan30's review against another edition
3.0
This ended up on my shelf as it appears on the 1001 list, however I had no idea it’s the second book of a trilogy until after I had finished it!
It’s certainly like nothing I’ve read before, the chapters flittered about but generally it was easy to follow. I loved the way that Senor Vivo managed to evade the attempts on his life from the Coca lord, seemingly just by luck, but enough that made people think he had some kind of magic power. I did find the violence a bIt much for some reason, and I’m used to crime novels, but one scene in particular made me feel quite sad so that I had to put the book down a give myself a bit of time before picking it back up.
Overall an interesting read and if the others in the trilogy landed with me at some point I would prefer backyard read them.
It’s certainly like nothing I’ve read before, the chapters flittered about but generally it was easy to follow. I loved the way that Senor Vivo managed to evade the attempts on his life from the Coca lord, seemingly just by luck, but enough that made people think he had some kind of magic power. I did find the violence a bIt much for some reason, and I’m used to crime novels, but one scene in particular made me feel quite sad so that I had to put the book down a give myself a bit of time before picking it back up.
Overall an interesting read and if the others in the trilogy landed with me at some point I would prefer backyard read them.